The Third World War: The Untold Story
Encyclopedia
The Third World War: The Untold Story is a novel by Sir John Hackett of a fictional third world war between NATO and Warsaw Pact
forces breaking out in 1985, written in the style of a non-fictional historical account. The book was published in 1982 by Macmillan
in New York and Sidgwick & Jackson
in London.
comes to the consensus that the country's economy is stagnating and its military may not retain superiority over the West for much longer. It would therefore be in the interests of the Soviet Union
to invade Western Europe with a short, sharp blow, and then sue for peace from a position of strength. The Politburo deliberates two options involving a sudden barrage of nuclear weapons against Western targets, but realizing the risk of nuclear war
they decide to opt for a third strategy involving conventional forces.
The catalyst for conflict comes in July 1985, when an American Marine unit intervenes against a Soviet incursion into Yugoslavia
. In response, the Warsaw Pact
mobilizes and subsequently launches a full scale invasion of Western Europe on the 4th of August 1985 (the anniversary of the start of the First World War). Soviet forces thrust through West Germany
towards the Rhine, and also land forces in northern Norway
and Turkey
. Attacks are also carried out using long range strategic bombing, naval forces and even killer satellites in space.
The Soviet juggernaut quickly loses steam. Stiff resistance by NATO, aided by France
and Sweden
, eventually foils the Soviet invasion, and Warsaw Pact forces get no further West than the German town of Krefeld
in the Ruhr
by around August 15. Norway is also invaded, causing Sweden to enter the war when it refuses to allow overflight rights to the Soviet air force. From mid-August the capacity of the Soviet Union
to wage war is significantly undermined by desertion of some of its demoralized allies, internal dissent at home and its own forces mutinying. Outside Europe the Americans bomb Cuba
, the Chinese invade Vietnam
and overthrow its government, Egypt
invades Libya
, Japan seizes the Kurile islands, and the Soviet Navy and merchant fleet is permanently neutralized.
To prove
to the world that they are still a force to be reckoned with, the Soviets launch a nuclear missile strike against Birmingham, England. The West retaliates with a similar strike on Minsk
, which accelerates the collapse of Soviet control in its satellite states. A coup d'etat
led by Ukrainian
nationalists overthrows the Soviet Politburo, which leads decisively down the path to the end of the threat posed by the Soviet Union.
The ruins of Birmingham and Minsk are eventually turned into war memorial
s fronted by immense causeway
s, with the memorials respectively called Peace City West and Peace City East.
German reunification is opposed by both sides after the war, and doesn't have any particular support in the Germanies themselves as they have developed separate national identities.
falls, the West sues for peace. Despite not being occupied, Britain is forced to accept a set of conditions which allows the Soviet Union to effectively control its military, economy and political institutions. This chapter is not included in the Macmillan edition.
. Indeed, the (limited) use of atomic warfare comes as a result of one side's conventional forces becoming weak and vulnerable.
Christopher Lehmann-Haupt of The New York Times
thought that Hackett scenario was too optimistic. In addition to the Soviets not starting a global nuclear war as they near defeat, Western forces do not suffer any critical setbacks caused by poor decisions or bad luck. The effects of the war and enlightened policies resolve many local conflicts, from Ireland
to Central America
to Palestine
. The reviewer also criticized the book for being too dry and swift in illustrating major incidents in the story. Because Hackett consulted with many military and political experts, however, Lehmann-Haupt stated that the book represented a "very high order of strategic thinking" and "a signal to the Soviets, or even a warning, of the way some Western military leaders are thinking."
, and the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War
. There is also some material based on the proposed militarization of space, in particular the consequences of both sides using antisatellite weapons in the war. Hackett avoided highlighting or rewriting events from his previous book that were unlikely to occur, such as Egypt
co-operating with the Soviet Union
or Iran fighting as an ally of the United States. Unlike the earlier novel, The Untold Story elaborates more on Soviet planning and doctrine, with narrated accounts from their soldiers and generals alike about the experience of battle and the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union
.
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
forces breaking out in 1985, written in the style of a non-fictional historical account. The book was published in 1982 by Macmillan
Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
in New York and Sidgwick & Jackson
Sidgwick & Jackson
Sidgwick & Jackson is an imprint of publishing company Pan Macmillan. It was founded in Britain in 1908. Notable early Sidgwick and Jackson authors include poet Rupert Brooke and novelist E.M. Forster...
in London.
Plot summary
By the mid-1980s the Soviet PolitburoPolitburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
comes to the consensus that the country's economy is stagnating and its military may not retain superiority over the West for much longer. It would therefore be in the interests of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
to invade Western Europe with a short, sharp blow, and then sue for peace from a position of strength. The Politburo deliberates two options involving a sudden barrage of nuclear weapons against Western targets, but realizing the risk of nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
they decide to opt for a third strategy involving conventional forces.
The catalyst for conflict comes in July 1985, when an American Marine unit intervenes against a Soviet incursion into Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. In response, the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
mobilizes and subsequently launches a full scale invasion of Western Europe on the 4th of August 1985 (the anniversary of the start of the First World War). Soviet forces thrust through West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
towards the Rhine, and also land forces in northern Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. Attacks are also carried out using long range strategic bombing, naval forces and even killer satellites in space.
The Soviet juggernaut quickly loses steam. Stiff resistance by NATO, aided by France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, eventually foils the Soviet invasion, and Warsaw Pact forces get no further West than the German town of Krefeld
Krefeld
Krefeld , also known as Crefeld until 1929, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its centre lying just a few kilometres to the west of the River Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine...
in the Ruhr
Ruhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
by around August 15. Norway is also invaded, causing Sweden to enter the war when it refuses to allow overflight rights to the Soviet air force. From mid-August the capacity of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
to wage war is significantly undermined by desertion of some of its demoralized allies, internal dissent at home and its own forces mutinying. Outside Europe the Americans bomb Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, the Chinese invade Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and overthrow its government, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
invades Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, Japan seizes the Kurile islands, and the Soviet Navy and merchant fleet is permanently neutralized.
To prove
Show of force
Show of force is a military term for an operation intended to warn or intimidate an opponent and to showcase one's own capability or will to act if provoked...
to the world that they are still a force to be reckoned with, the Soviets launch a nuclear missile strike against Birmingham, England. The West retaliates with a similar strike on Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, which accelerates the collapse of Soviet control in its satellite states. A coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
led by Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
nationalists overthrows the Soviet Politburo, which leads decisively down the path to the end of the threat posed by the Soviet Union.
The ruins of Birmingham and Minsk are eventually turned into war memorial
War memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...
s fronted by immense causeway
Causeway
In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :When first used, the word appeared in a form such as “causey way” making clear its derivation from the earlier form “causey”. This word seems to have come from the same source by...
s, with the memorials respectively called Peace City West and Peace City East.
German reunification is opposed by both sides after the war, and doesn't have any particular support in the Germanies themselves as they have developed separate national identities.
Alternative ending
In The Untold Story a separate chapter is devoted to an alternative, more pessimistic scenario, written in the form of radio transcripts and newspaper editorials. NATO forces are unable to defend West Germany, and after the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
falls, the West sues for peace. Despite not being occupied, Britain is forced to accept a set of conditions which allows the Soviet Union to effectively control its military, economy and political institutions. This chapter is not included in the Macmillan edition.
Literary significance & criticism
Hackett had two objectives in mind—to demonstrate the necessity for Western Europe to have a strong and co-ordinated conventional military, and to suggest that it could be plausible that nuclear weapons may not be used in the next world warWorld war
A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....
. Indeed, the (limited) use of atomic warfare comes as a result of one side's conventional forces becoming weak and vulnerable.
Christopher Lehmann-Haupt of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
thought that Hackett scenario was too optimistic. In addition to the Soviets not starting a global nuclear war as they near defeat, Western forces do not suffer any critical setbacks caused by poor decisions or bad luck. The effects of the war and enlightened policies resolve many local conflicts, from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. The reviewer also criticized the book for being too dry and swift in illustrating major incidents in the story. Because Hackett consulted with many military and political experts, however, Lehmann-Haupt stated that the book represented a "very high order of strategic thinking" and "a signal to the Soviets, or even a warning, of the way some Western military leaders are thinking."
The Third World War: August 1985
The book is an update to his 1978 novel. The book was written with the hindsight of knowing about what were, at the time, recent geopolitical and technological developments. Hackett wove in more contemporary themes including the rise of Solidarity in PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War
Sino-Vietnamese War
The Sino–Vietnamese War , also known as the Third Indochina War, known in the PRC as and in Vietnam as Chiến tranh chống bành trướng Trung Hoa , was a brief but bloody border war fought in 1979 between the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam...
. There is also some material based on the proposed militarization of space, in particular the consequences of both sides using antisatellite weapons in the war. Hackett avoided highlighting or rewriting events from his previous book that were unlikely to occur, such as Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
co-operating with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
or Iran fighting as an ally of the United States. Unlike the earlier novel, The Untold Story elaborates more on Soviet planning and doctrine, with narrated accounts from their soldiers and generals alike about the experience of battle and the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Release details
- 1982, UK, Sidgewick & Jackson (ISBN 0-283-98863-0), Pub date ? ? 1982, hardback (First edition)
- 1982, USA, Macmillan (ISBN 0-02-547110-4), Pub date ? ? 1982, hardback
- 1983, USA, Bantam Books (ISBN 0-553-23637-7), Pub date ? ? 1983, paperback
- 1983, USA, New English Library, (ISBN 0-450-05591-4), Pub date 1 July 1983, hardback